Some Things Change and Some Things Stay the Same
by rowerforlife
Summary: Although Percy and Annabeth were two-times saviors of the world, sometimes they were still just trying to adjust to the scars from Tartarus that may never fade.


**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize does not belong to me. I am not making money off of this or doing it for anything other than harmless (and profitless) enjoyment.**

Drip, drip

Martha, daughter of Hermes, turned her head as two campers walked to the fire hand in hand, ignoring the kids streaming past, the girl wringing out her curly blonde hair.

"What are they doing? I though campfire was mandatory," the new camper said turning to Clarisse, who had somehow been coerced into showing the new girl around.

Clarisse didn't even turn around before replying. "That's Percy and Annabeth," she said, "trust me, those two are the exception to every rule"

"What?" She asked.

"Kid, you have not been around long enough to hear the full story" Clarisse replied dismissively already losing interest in the new girls drama.

Martha watched as the two settled in to watch the embers while everyone else wandered back to their cabin. As she turned to return to her own, she couldn't help but wonder what their story was.

XXXXXXXXXX

"I swear, we should just include you guys in the introduction to the Camp, 'Welcome, here's the volleyball pits, the strawberry fields, oh, and Annabeth and Percy, two-time saviors of Olympus and two of three known survivors of Tartarus,'" Clarisse grumbled the next morning at the counselor meeting.

"Clarisse!" several voices admonished at the same time, though Piper's came through the loudest.

"Calm down pretty girl," Clarisse said, "they're so lost in their own world right now they wouldn't know it if the minotaur ran through"

Though the head counselors glared at Clarisse, they too turned to the two teenagers looking at them as if to examine their own mental security. Yesterday had not been a good day and the two were still feeling the effects. The campers were slowly (and unfortunately) becoming accustomed to the screams that pierced the air at night while the couple relived their time in hell, but it was still jarring to witness the aftereffects.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to send them out like this, especially just the two of them?" Jason asked, wincing when Piper smacked his arm.

"We're fine" the blonde and black heads shot up in unison at this remark.

"You know it's only worse when someone comes with us," Percy pointed out, "don't forget what happened last time."

"Nobody fights the way we fight and I refuse to put us at risk because some new camper wants to get their ears wet. If we were talking about one of you guys it would be different, but inexperienced fighters are not predictable, and they don't follow the plan," Annabeth continued Percy's sentence without missing a beat.

The older campers suppressed a smile at Annabeth's familiar words; gods forbid someone not follow the plan.

They also though back to the last times someone had sent the two of them on an extraction mission. Though the new demigod had made it back in one piece, more-or-less, the third member of their quest had crossed the border bleeding. Apparently he had tried to be heroic and in doing so had crossed lines that through both Percy and Annabeth back into their nightmares.

It was universally agreed after that that Annabeth and Percy worked better as a duo rather than any other combination Chiron could think of to send them with.

"I agree that the two do better on their own," Chiron acknowledged, "though that doesn't change the fact that you need to learn," Chiron admonished gently.

Both Annabeth and Percy looked ready to protest, but Chiron shot them an understanding glance and they subsided. As Clarisse had told the new camper, exceptions had been, and would continue to be, made for the two who had gone through so much to be sitting on the other side of the Ping-Pong table.

Percy had had enough and cut in at this point. "I know you guys don't think we're ok to do this."

Jason cut in again, "It's not that we don't think you can handle it, but you guys have earned a break, why put yourself at risk if it's not necessary. Maybe it's time to let someone else do it for a change"

Annabeth and Percy exchanged looks, but this time it was Annabeth spoke. "We understand that, and we appreciate it, really, but it has been a year, we've been successfully managing at school and we want to do this."

"It reinforces that we're not getting soft," Percy continued, "And lets us see that we are not the helpless people we were down there," his voice getting softer at the end.

The counselors exchanged glances at the rare sign of vulnerability from the two heroes of Olympus.

"Fine," Clarisse spoke for the group, "One quick extraction, in and out in less than two days. They're twins, parentage unclear, but they have a satyr with them so it should be painless. Even you should be able to handle it Jackson," the last words were spoken abruptly, but with no real bite.

The two exchanged glances, "It's under control" they said together.

XXXXXXXXX

The next day found the two in Percy's beat up blue Prius, gifted down by Paul, en route to upstate New York. As always, the daughter of Athena and son of Poseidon had their fingers interlocked. Even a year after the events of that hellhole the two were reluctant to be separated, they could always be found touching in one way or another, even if it was technically against Camp Half-Blood's rules.

After a couple of hours of driving they pulled into the parking lot of a school.

"Everything seems calm," Percy commented to Annabeth as he got out of the car to open her door, he was chivalrous that way.

"Seaweed Brain," she groaned, opening her door (she was no damsel in distress after all), "every time you say that something goes wrong. "

As if to prove her point the side of the building exploded.

"Can we never catch a break?" Percy groaned but he uncapped Riptide as Annabeth unsheathed her dagger and the two ran right towards the hole in the wall.

Not a moment too soon, as a teenager was thrown from the building to the growl of a dracaena. Of course said teenager was bleating like a goat, which proved more than anything that it was not a normal high school kid.

"I've got it," Annabeth said changing course and moving towards the satyr as Percy continued to charge into the building. She quickly got him to his feet and the two followed the black-haired demigod into the building.

Though the satyr had thanked her for helping him up, it was only after he had glanced to the side that he realized exactly to who he owed his gratitude to. "Annabeth Chase," he said with awe coloring his tone, "daughter of Athena and savior of the mythological world."

Annabeth blushed and sighed in exasperation. "Nice to meet you, but can we focus? Where are the new campers?"

The satyr's words were cut off by the high-pitched scream of a teenage girl. At this point, the two had reached the building and they climbed through to see Percy battling two dracaena. While another two had cut off two teenagers, who though they were brother and sister, looked very identical. Annabeth immediately went to Percy's side while the protector went to the two half bloods. The couple fell into formation and within minutes had eliminated all four of the monsters threatening the lives of the new demigods.

"What the hell is going on?" the boy asked as the satyr, who up until an hour ago he had pegged as a normal high school freshman ushered him to a beat-up old Prius.

But his answer would have to wait because Annabeth let out a scream and latched onto Percy with a death grip that Hades himself wouldn't have been able to loosen. What nobody had realized was that the classroom that had exploded was a biology one, and the project for the semester, to grow spiders. The broken cages littered the floor as the spiders appeared to mob together and approach Annabeth.

"Time to go," Percy interrupted as he scooped up his still frozen girlfriend and placed her in the passenger seat. "Get in the car," he ordered.

"I am not going anywhere with you," the light-haired girl stomped her foot to emphasize her point.

Just then the sounds of footsteps alerted the demigods (and satyr) of the arrival of someone new to the scene. Whether it was mortal or monster didn't matter to the campers as the satyr shoved the twins in the waiting car without a word and the car took off, down the highway and towards Camp Half-Blood.

Annabeth had calmed down slightly, but was apparently muttering to herself. Percy had taken her hand and was attempting to calm her down, but with little luck. Meanwhile, Evan (a slightly odd name for a satyr, but nonetheless) was attempting to explain to the two stunned twins about their new heritage.

This continued all the way to the base of a hill where Percy parked the car, and wrapping his arm around Annabeth motioned for the new demigods to get out. Without speaking to them, as he had yet to say a word other than to Evan and Annabeth the whole trip, he motioned them up the hill. As they crossed the barrier into the Camp several teenagers ran up to them.

"Thank the gods," said Piper upon spying the five people, all of whom remained unharmed.

"Everyone needs to visit the infirmary" Jason spoke up.

"And will someone tell us what is going on?!" this time it was the twins who spoke in unison.

"Spiders," Annabeth muttered, and Percy, with his arm still locked firmly around her began walking towards Cabin Three.

"What is their deal?" asked the new boy.

"I swear to the gods," Clarisse threw her hands in the air, "I'm making edits to that video."


End file.
